Packing box



J. w. TOMAN ET Sept. 9, 1969 PACKING BO 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 196"! Jo/m ZZ/ Ema)? flZt/zae/ i Mg ggs ATTORNEYS.

p 9, 1969 J. w. TOMAN ETAL 3,465,909

PACKING BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1967 c/Mn Mfman M'chae/ Z [adamla INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,465,909 PACKING BOX John W. Toman, Framingham, and Michael L. Iadarola, Milford, Mass., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Aug. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 660,887 Int. Cl. B6511 9/06, 19/08 US. Cl. 217- 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improved packing box made of sheet material reinforced by cleats attached to the sheet material and having a transversely split end panel, the upper part of said end panel being easily removable for loading and unloading the box.

Packing boxes for transport and storage of large quantities of supplies, such as rations for the Armed Forces, are commonly constructed of plywood panels reinforced with wood cleats nailed to the plywood. In order to provide structural integrity, such boxes are normally completely assembled with only the top left off prior to loading. After the loading has been accomplished, the top is nailed in place. These boxes are well constructed and are frequently capable of reuse it they are not damaged in shipment or in the process of unloading the box. In addition, in military operations, there are many field expedient uses for such boxes and the materials of which they are constructed including the storage of supplies and even shelter for personnel.

A serious problem in the full utilization of such boxes occurs where the loads to be accommodated are of such size that the sides of the box become too high for personnel to reach into the box for loading and unloading of supplies. However, in order to achieve maximum efficiency in handling such boxes with mechanized equiprnent and to accommodate standardized quantities of supplies therein, the height of the boxes frequently exceeds four feet. In the loading and unloading of boxes of this size, cartons or bags of supplies weighing up to 100 pounds must be lifted over the sidewall requiring one man to be positioned outside of the box and another man working inside of the box.

According to the present invention, the upper portion of one of the sides of the box is made removable without requiring partial destruction of the box and without adversely afiecting the structural integrity of the remainder of the box. With this portion removed, it not only becomes relatively simple for personnel to reach into the box over the remaining lower portion of the sidewall for loading and unloading purposes, but also a means is provided whereby the box can be easily opened without causing significant damage which would prevent further use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved packing box of large capacity which will be capable of being easily loaded and unloaded by personnel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packing box of large capacity which may be readily opened without damage to the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved packing box embodying significant advantages over conventional boxes of this type at a minimal increase in cost.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in connection with the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a packing box constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of the packing box similar to that of FIGURE 1, but with the upper part panel of the front end of the box removed for unloading the box and with a portion of the box broken away;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the front end panel of the packing box separated from the re- Y mainder of the packing box; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the front end of the packing box shown in FIGURE 1, the section being taken approximately along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1, with the top and bottom of the box broken away adjacent to the front end panel.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a pack ing box 10 is provided with two side panels 11, a front end panel 12, a rear end panel (not shown), a bottom panel 14, and a top panel 15. Side panels 11, the rear end panel, and bottom panel 14 are provided with wood cleats 16 attached along the edges of the panels and vertically extending cleats 17 attached in the center of the panels to reinforce the plywood of which the panels are usually constructed. Front end panel 12 is split transversely and comprises upper part panel 18 and lower part panel 19, as shown in FIGURE 3. Upper part panel 18 is provided with wood cleats 20 superimposed thereon and attached along the side edges thereof and wood cleat 21 attached along the upper edge thereof. Upper part panel 18 is also provided with transverse cleat 22 attached to the plywood of which upper part panel 18 is constructed in such manner that it overhangs the lower edge of upper part panel 18 by approximately half the width of cleat 22, for a purpose to be described.

A vertical cleat 23 is attached to the plywood of upper part panel 18 approximately in the center thereof and extends from transverse cleat 22 to the lower edge of wood cleat 21 for reinforcement purposes.

The lower part panel 19 is provided with wood cleats 24 superimposed thereon and attached along the side edges thereof and wood cleat 25 attached along the lower edge thereof. Lower part panel 19 is also provided with a central vertically extending cleat 26 attached to the plywood of which the lower part panel is constructed. The central cleat 26 extends from the lower edge cleat 25 to a point spaced below the upper edge of lower part panel 19 by a distance equal to the distance wood cleat 22 extends below the lower edge of upper part panel 18. Thus, when the upper and lower part panels are brought together as shown in FIGURE 1 in completing the packing box, the lower edge of the plywood of which the upper part panel 18 is constructed abuts the upper edge of the plywood of which the lower part panel 19 is constructed along a transverse abutment line 27; transverse cleat 22 overlaps transverse abutment line 27 and the upper portion of the plywood of lower part panel 19. In addition, the lower ends of side cleats 20 on the upper part panel abut the upper ends of side cleats 24 of the lower part panel at transverse abutment line 27 while the upper end of center cleat 26 on the lower part panel abuts the lower edge of transverse cleat 22.

In order to provide for ease of handling of box with fork lift equipment and cargo slings, skids 28 are attached to the lower surface of the bottom panel 14 along the side edges thereof.

As shown in FIGURE 2, upper part panel 18 has been removed from packing box 10. This is done by unscrewing and removing seven lag bolts 29, three of which pass through the top panel 15 into wood cleat 21 at spaced intervals and two of which pass through the edge cleats 16 of the side panels 11 into each of the adjacent edge cleats 20 of the upper part panel. When this is done, the upper part panel can be lifted out, leaving an opening through which it is easy to unload or load the packing box.

In order to prevent the upper part panel from falling inside of the packing box when it is being applied to the packing box to complete the closing thereof, a blocking strip is provided attached to each of the side panels 11. These blocking strips 30 are spaced from the front edges of the side panels and run from approximately the top edge of each side panel to a line slightly above the inner surface of the bottom panel when the sidewalls are fastened to the bottom panel. The blocking strips insure that the plywood of the lower part panel and the plywood of the upper part panel will lie in substantially the same vertical plane and that the wood cleats 20 and 24 of the upper and lower part panels respectively, will fit snugly between the side panels 11 and flush with the ends of the side panels at the front end of the packing box.

In the assembling of the side, bottom and rear panels and the upper and lower part panels of the front panel nails 31 of the proper size are driven first through the plywood and then into the wood cleats. The blocking strips 30 are attached to the plywood of the side panels 11 and to the cleats 16 which reinforce the font edges of the side panels by means of nails 32. In the assembling of the packing box the bottom panel 14 is nailed to the skids 28. Then the side panels 11 are fastened to bottom panel 14 by driving nails 33 through the lower edge cleats 16 of the side panels and the plywood into the side edge cleats 16 of the bottom panel. The rear end panel (not shown) is then fastened by driving nails through its lower edge cleat and plywood into the rear edge cleat of the bottom panel (not shown) and by driving nails 34 through the rear edge cleat 16 of each side panel and its corresponding plywood panel into the adjacent side cleat of the rear end panel. The lower part panel 19 is then fastened in place backed up by blocking strips 30 by driving nails 35 through lower edge cleat 25 and the plywood of lower part panel 19 into the front edge cleat of the bottom panel and driving nails 34 through the front edge cleat 16 of each side panel and its corresponding plywood panel into the adjacent side cleat 24 of the lower part panel. At this stage of assembly the box becomes a sturdy free-standing structure well able to withstand the stress and strain of loading and unloading operations without damage.

When loading of the box is completed the top panel 15, which is usually uncleated, is installed by driving nails 36 therethrough into top cleats 16 of the side and rear end panels producing the packing box loaded with cartons 37 or the like, as shown in FIGURE 2. Closure of the loaded packing box is completed by inserting upper part panel 18, pressing it firmly against blocking strips 30 and screwing lag bolts 29 through holes 38 in top panel 15 and holes 39 in front edge cleats 16 of side panels 11. This produces the cross-bracing of the front end panel 12 by center cleats 23 and 26 and transverse cleat 22, as shown in FIGURE 1.

In most cases the transverse cleat 22 is not fastened to the lower part panel 19 since it is desirable to facilitate removal of the upper part panel 18 from the packing box when preparing for unloading. Further, since the lower ends of the side cleats 20 of the upper part panel abut the upper ends of the side cleats 24 of the lower part panel, the center cleat 26 of the lower part panel abuts lower edge cleat 25 and the transverse cleat 22 of the upper part panel, the center cleat 23 of the upper part panel abuts upper edge cleat 21 and transverse cleat 22, and the transverse cleat 22 abuts both the side cleats 20 of the upper part panel and the side cleats 24 of the lower part panel, the front end panel 12 has high resistance to compression damage despite the split in the plywood along transverse abutment line 27.

In unloading the packing box, the upper part panel alone may be removed as described above or this may be done and then the top panel 15 may be removed by hammering it off from the inside of the packing box. Relatively smaller nails are used for fastening the top panel 15 to the side and rear panels than for the other panels in order to facilitate removal of the top panel in the above-mentioned manner if such is desired to speed up unloading of the packing box or to facilitate reloading thereof. Removal of the top panel in this manner results in comparatively little damage thereto.

It is to be understood that although in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the split in the front end panel and, therefore, the transverse abutment line are located about midway from top to bottom of the panel, this is subject to variation to fit the requiremens of the load. For example, some cartons or bags used for supplies may require a larger opening; hence, it will be desirable in such cases to have an upper part panel somewhat larger than the lower part panel. Similarly, the invention will be equally effective where conditions of use may require or permit the upper part panel to be smaller than the lower part panel. It is also to be understood that other types of sheet material such as fiberboard, pressed board, or plastic sheets may be used for the panels and part panels of the packing box of the invention and that other types of suitable fasteners may be substituted for the removable lag bolts and the nails described.

The packing box split panel of the present invention greatly facilitates loading and unloading of packing boxes without destroying the box and without appreciable sacrifice of strength of the assembled box. The cooperation of the transverse cleat 22 covering the transverse abutment line 27 with the center cleats 23 and 26 and with side cleats 20 and 24 contributes sufiicient strength to substantially compensate for any loss of strength which may result from the splitting of the front end panel into two part panels.

When a packing box according to the present invention has been unloaded, it is useful as a storage bin or for shelter or other purposes that may arise in the field. Removal of the upper part panel as described above results in no damage to the box; whereas prior to this invention considerable damage was caused during the opening of packing boxes because of the necessity for prying the top panels off or breaking the panels with any means at hand in order to get into the boxes. In many cases heretofore the boxes were so severely damaged by use of sledge hammers or the like for opening them that they were of no further use. Now, however, as a result of the present invention, packing boxes used by the Armed Forces may be opened with a pair of pliers or a small wrench sufiiciently to permit unloading thereof. The unloaded packing boxes may then be reused as a packing box or used without further disassembly for storage or shelter or they may be easily knocked apart from the inside without appreciable damage to the panels, thus making possible employment of the panels for many useful purposes in the field.

It will be apparent that the several advantages of this invention are obtained at a very slight increase in the cost of the container since the only additional materials required are for cleat 22, blocking strips 30 and the lag bolts and the same tools and skills will be used in manufacture and assembly. This aspect of the invention is of great significance since packing costs are a matter of constant concern in the shipment of large volumes of supplies.

It will be understood, of course, that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a packing box made of sheet material reinforced by cleats attached to said sheet material, the bottom panel of said packing box being shorter than the side and top panels thereof and having skids attached thereto parallel to said side panels of said box, said skids extending beyond the ends of said bottom panel, the improvement which comprises providing a transversely split end panel supported between the portions of said skids extending beyond the ends of said bottom panel and the top panel of said box and between said side panels of said box comprising a lower part panel and an upper part panel, said upper part panel abutting said lower part panel along a transverse abutment line, said abutment line being substantially completely covered by a transversely extending cleat fastened to said upper part panel and overlapping said lower part panel, each of said part panels being provided with at least one vertically extending cleat spaced from the sides thereof, the lower end of said vertically extending cleat on said upper part panel abutting the upper edge of said transversely extending cleat and the upper end of said vertically extending cleat on said lower part panel abutting the lower edge of said transversely extending cleat, each of said part panels being provided with vertically extending cleats along each side thereof abutting said transversely extending cleat, the upper edge of said upper part panel being provided with a cleat abutting said side cleats on said upper part panel, the lower edge of said lower part panel being provided with a cleat abutting said side cleats on said lower part panel, the upper end of said vertically extending cleat spaced from the sides of said upper part panel abutting the lower edge of said cleat on the upper edge of said upper part panel and the lower end of said vertically extending cleat spaced from the sides of said lower part panel abutting the upper edge of said cleat on the lower edge of said lower part panel, and removable fastening means for holding said upper part panel in place in said box whereby said upper part panel may be removed for loading and unloading of said box.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 919,798 4/1909 Weinacht 217-36 1,641,026 8/1927 Evans 217-43 2,507,693 5/1950 Collier. 2,884,125 4/1959 Cadillac et al '2l7-43 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,270,581 7/ 1961 France.

RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

